Christmas edition of articles for web developers

Hello readers!

Just as we do every month, we've pulled together a selection of articles from the world of web tech that we think are worth sharing, and which you might have overlooked during the year.

Discover how to type web apps efficiently, get valuable insight into using React hooks, learn which Node.js habits to reconsider, and much more.

Happy reading!

The state of open-source software in 2022

GitHub released their first Octoverse report 10 years ago, back in 2012, so as we approach the end of 2022 they’re taking the opportunity to recap all the (many!) changes that have occurred in the open-source ecosystem over the past decade. The major trends identified are the rise of infrastructure as code with related languages such as HCL, Shell, and Go. Another trend is the rise of Python, which surpassed Java as the second most used language, with Typescript skyrocketing to the fourth position from 10th just in 3 years! To find out more, read the report.

How to type web apps efficiently?

Kent C. Dodds explains how to benefit from the Typescript without producing too many types. Most important is to type the common boundaries in the program as local storage, user input, network resources, and other types of data entering the application. To understand why it is efficient, check out the blog post.

How to think about useMemo and useCallback

This article provides another point of view on whether useMemo and useCallback hooks should be used proactively in the React app, or if we should only apply them when they are necessary. It expands on the well-known article by Kent C. Dodds on the topic, with more arguments for when it is worth using them.

Node.js patterns you should reconsider in 2022

The node.js ecosystem is maturing. This is generally a good thing, however, it can be challenging for developers to spot when to eliminate old habits and consider migrating to another library or tooling. With that in mind, this article's author provides a list of proven practices that might be worth considering changing in the upcoming year.

Typescript 5 roadmap

Typescript is preparing for the next major version, which will be released as a beta at the end of January. You can find support for ECMAScript decorators, further performance optimizations, or exhaustive switch completion among the upcoming features. Find out more about the forthcoming features in the roadmap.

Merry Christmas!